Tool for connector member

ABSTRACT

A fiber optic connector member having a removable front plate for protecting the faces of optical fibers mounted within the connector. The plate is retained within the connector shell by a resilient retention finger. The finger extends into a T-shaped slot formed on the outer surface of the plate. The slot opens at the front face of the plate. An extraction tool is disclosed which may be inserted into the slot to release the retention finger and grip shoulders formed on the sides of the slot allowing the plate to be withdrawn from the connector shell by pulling the tool forwardly of the connector.

This is a division, of application Ser. No. 718,906, filed Aug. 30,1976, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,882.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a connector member and, moreparticularly, to a fiber optic connector member having a removable frontinsulator, and to an extraction tool for releasing and withdrawing theinsulator from the connector shell.

In a fiber optic connector, it is desirable to provide a front insulatorwithin the connector shell which protects the termination pins thatterminate the fiber optic bundles mounted in the connector, yet isremovable so that the face of the fiber bundles can be cleanedperiodically in the field while the connector is in use. The frontinsulator is retained in the connector shell by means of suitableresilient retention fingers on opposite sides of the shell. A tool isrequired to release the retention fingers and grip the front insulatorin a positive fashion so that it can be readily withdrawn from the shellwithout damaging either the insulator or the termination pins in theconnector.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,514 to Medina discloses such a connector in which acentral elongated slot extends from the forward face of the removablefront insulator that protects the contact elements in the connector to arearwardly facing surface thereon. Clearance spaces are provided betweenthe inner surface of the connector shell and the outer surface of thefront insulator, extending from the front face of the insulator torearwardly facing shoulders thereon which are engaged by the retentionfingers mounted in the shell. An extraction tool is provided whichcomprises a shaft having a handle mounted on the rear end thereof and atransversely extending arm on the foward end of the shaft. The arm isdimensioned so as to be slidable witin the central slot in the frontinsulator of the connector. In addition, a U-shaped element is rotatablymounted adjacent to the forward end of the shaft. This element has apair of forwardly extending legs which are generally parallel to andspaced from the shaft. The distance between the legs and shaftcorresponds to the distance between the central slot in the frontinsulator of the connector and the retention fingers mounted in theshell that retain the insulator therein. The tool is inserted into theconnector member with the transversely extending arm sliding through thecentral slot in the front insulator and the forwardly extending legs onthe rotatable element of the tool extending into the clearance spaces tolift the retention fingers out of engagement with their cooperatingretention shoulders on the front insulator to thereby release thefingers, leaving the insulator free floating in the shell. The handle ofthe tool is then rotated approximately 90° so that the transverselyextending arm on the forward end of the shaft will engage a rearwardlyfacing surface on the insulator. The tool is then withdrawn from theconnector shell to extract the insulator therefrom. Thus, a single toolis utilized to release the retention fingers and withdraw the frontinsulator from the connector shell without damaging the pins thatterminate the fiber bundles within the connector, thereby allowing thefaces of the fiber bundles to be easily cleaned in the field.

While the foregoing arrangement is satisfactory from a functionalstandpoint, it has two disadvantages. THe central slot in the frontinsulator which receives the transversely extending arm on the forwardend of the shaft of the tool uses up valuable space in the connectorwhich could otherwise be utilized for mounting optical fiber terminationpins or contacts. Secondly, the tool is relatively expensive since theU-shaped element must be rotatably mounted with respect to the shaft ofthe tool and, in addition, manipulation of the tool to release theretention fingers in the connector and withdraw the front insulatortherefrom is complicated by the fact that the handle on the tool must berotated. The purpose of the present invention is to modify the Medinaconnector and tool so as to eliminate the central slot in the frontinsulator of the connector and to simplify the structure and handling ofthe tool.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the principal aspect of the present invention, a connectorof the general type described above is modified by forming rearwardlyfacing shoulders on the sides of the slot or clearance space provided inthe outer surface of the front insulator. As a consequence, the centralslot required in the front insulator in the Medina connector may beeliminated. The tool of present invention embodies a relatively rigidcentral plate and a pair of resilient arms which extent along the edgesof the plate. Hooks are formed on the outer edges of the arms. When thetool is inserted into the slot in the front insulator, the arms deflectinwardly toward the central plate until the hooks pass the rearwardlyfacing shoulders on the sides of the slot, whereupon the arms willspring laterally outwardly so that the hooks will engage such shoulders.Simultaneously, the central plate of the tool releases the retentionfinger in the shell which engages the rear of the slot. Thus, by pullingthe tool forwardly relative to the connector, the front insulator may beremoved from the connector shell. The tool requires no movable parts, isrelatively simple in structure and inexpensive to manufacture, and maybe manipulated by the operator without the requirement of rotating thehandle of the tool. Thus, the present invention simplifies the operationof removing the front insulator from the connector shell and allows agreater number of contact elements to be mounted in the connector.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a connector constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is partial, vertical sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIG.1 showing how the retention fingers retain the front insulator withinthe connector shell;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the extraction tool of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the extraction tool illustrated inFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front end view of the extraction tool;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the front insulator removed from theconnector shell with the tool of FIGS. 3 to 5 partially inserted intoT-shaped slots in the insulator; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 6 showing the tool fullyinserted into the slots in the front insulator in a position wherein theretention fingers in the connector shell are released, thereby allowingthe front insulator to be removed from the front of the connector shell.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 in detail, there is illustrated theconnector of the present invention, generally designated 10. Theconnector comprises a hollow generally rectangular shell 12 whichcontains a front support member 14 and a rear support member 16containing conductive elements 18. The present invention is particularlyadapted to a fiber optic connector in which the conductive elements 18contain optical fibers. This being the case, the front and rear supportmembers 14 and 16 may be formed of either insulation material orconductive material. It is advantageous, however, that the supportmembers be formed of insulation, such as rubber or plastic, for ease ofmanufacture and to minimize cost and weight. Consequently, throughoutthe specification the members 14 and 16 will hereinafter be referred toas the front and rear insulators of the connector. Needless to say, ifthe conductive elements 18 were electrical contacts, then the members 14and 16 must be formed of electrically nonconductive material. While theinvention is particularly advantageous for a fiber optic connector, itwill be appreciated from the following description that the inventioncould also be advantageously adapted to a connector containing onlyelectrical contact members if it is necessary or desirable to have aremovable front insulator therefor.

The rear insulator 16 is fixedly mounted within the shell 12. As seen inFIG. 1, the rear insulator has forwardly extending side portions 20adjacent to the opposite ends of the shell 12 defining a recess 22therebetween of generally trapezoidal configuration. The front insulator14 has a configuration complementary to the recess 22 and is slidablefrom the forward end 24 of the shell into such recess. When the frontinsulator is fully mounted in the recess 22, the forward face 26 of thefront insulator is flush with the front faces 28 of the side portions 20of the rear fixed insulator.

The front insulator 14 is formed with a plurality of passages 30 whichextend from the forward face 26 to the rear face 32 of the insulator.Passages 34 are provided in the rear insulator 16 which extend from theforward face 36 thereof to the rear face 38 and in alignment with thepassages 30 in the front insulator. The conductive elements 18 aremounted in the passages 30 and 34. Each conductive element 18 comprisesa termination pin or contact 40 which terminates a fiber optic bundle 42that extends rearwardly through the passage 34 in the rear insulator.The optical fibers in the bundle 42 terminate in a polished end surfaceat the forward end 44 of the termination pin 40. The end 44 of the pinis located within the passage 30 in the front insulator intermediate theforward face 26 and the rear face 32 of the insulator. Thus, the frontinsulator provides a protection for the polished forward end 44 of theoptical fibers in the termination pin 40. When the connector member 10is connected to a mating connector member, not shown, termination pinsin the mating connector member similar to the pins 40 will extend intothe forward ends of the passages 30 to bring the faces of the pins intoabutting relationship for maximum light transmission through the fiberoptic bundles of the two connector members. The conductive elements 18may be mounted in the connector 10 in any suitable manner. For example,the elements may be releasably mounted in the rear insulator by means ofcircular releasable retention clips, not shown, such as disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 3,158,424 to Bowen.

The rear fixed insulator 16 may also contain a plurality of electricalcontacts 46 which are disposed in the side portions 20 of the insulator.Alternatively, all the contacts in the connector member 10 may comprisefiber optic contacts, as illustrated in FIG. 2 in which case the frontinsulator 14 would completely cover the face of the rear insulator.

The connector shell 12 is formed with an outwardly extending flange 48containing a plurality of openings 50 for receiving fasteners to mountthe connector to a suitable panel, not shown.

A slot 52 is formed in the top surface 54 of the front removableinsulator 14. The slot extends from the forward face 26 of the insulatorrearwardly to a forwardly facing shoulder 56 adjacent to the rear face32 of the insulator. A second slot 52' is formed in the bottom surface54' of the front insulator similar to the slot 52. The slot 52' extendsto a forwardly facing shoulder 56'. It is noted from FIG. 1 that theslots 52 and 52' are in vertical alignment with each other and generallycentrally positioned with respect to the connector. A retention clip 58is mounted in a recess 60 formed in the top inner surface 62 of theshell 12. A similar retention clip 58' is mounted in a recess 60' in thebottom inner surface 62' of the shell. The retention clips 58 and 58'are aligned with the slots 52 and 52'. The retention clips embodyresilient rearwardly and inwardly extending retention fingers 64, 64'which engage the respective shoulders 56, 56' on the front insulatorlimiting forward movement of the insulator within the shell 12. It willbe appreciated that the width of the slots 52, 52' are sufficientlygreat to allow the retention finger 64, 64' to extend thereinto toengage the forwardly facing shoulders on the front insulator. It isfurther seen that the slots 52, 52' provide clearance spaces between thefront insulator and the inner surface of the shell 12 allowing a tool tobe inserted thereinto to engage the retention fingers, lifting thefingers out of engagement with the shoulders 56, 56', thereby allowingthe front insulator to be withdrawn forwardly from the connector shell.

The connector described so far is identical to that disclosed in theaforementioned Medina patent. In accordance with the present invention,the central slot in the front insulator of Medina is eliminated bymaking the slots of 52, 52' of T-shaped configuration, as best seen inFIGS. 6 and 7. The T-shaped slot 52 provides a pair of rearwardly facingshoulders 66 on the sides of the slot. Similar shoulders 66' are formedon the sides of the slot 52', only one of such shoulders being visiblein FIG. 2.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 3 to 5 which illustrate the extractiontool of the present invention, generally designated 70. The toolcomprises a U-shaped element, generally designated 72, comprising a pairof flat parallel legs 74 joined by a base member 76. A handle 78 isfixedly mounted to the center of the base member 76.

Each leg embodies a forwardly extending, relatively rigid elongatedcentral plate 80 and a pair of elongated relatively narrow resilientarms 82 which extend along the outer edges 84 of the central plate andspaced relative thereto. The resilient arms 82 are laterally movabletoward the plate 82 as will be explained later herein. Hooks 86 areformed on the outer edges of the arms 82 adjacent to the forward end 88of the legs 74. Each hook has a forwardly and inwardly extending taperedouter surface 90 and a rearwardly facing shoulder 92. The forwardportions of the legs 72 which include the central plate 80 and resilientarms 82 are reduced in width to define forwardly facing shoulders 94.The width of the forward portions of the legs behind the hooks 86 isslightly less than the width of the slots 52, 52', but the width of thelegs at the hooks 86 is greater than the width of the slots. Thethickness of the forward portions of plates 80 is such that when theplates are inserted into the slots 52, 52', they will lift the retentionfingers 64, 64' out of engagement with the shoulders 56, 56' on thefront insulator, in the same manner as described in the aforementionedMedina patent. The distance between the legs 74 corresponds to thedistance between the slots 52, 52'. To release and remove the frontinsulator 14 from the connector shell 12, the forward portions of thelegs 74 of the tool are aligned with the slots 52, 52'. The taperedouter surfaces 90 on each leg 74 are positioned adjacent to the edges ofthe slots 52, 52'. Upon pushing the tool into the slots, the resilientarms 82 on each of the legs 74 will deflect inwardly toward the centralplates 80, thereby allowing the forward portions of the legs to be movedrearwardly into the slots, as seen in FIG. 6. After the hooks 86 passthe rearwardly facing shoulders 66 in the respective slots 52, 52', thearms 82 will spring outwardly so that the shoulder 92 on the hooks willengage behind the shoulders 66 on the sides of the slots. This willoccur when the shoulders 112 engage the forward face 26 of the frontinsulator, as seen in FIG. 7. In such position of the tool in the slots,the central plates 80 will engage under the retention fingers 64, 64',releasing the fingers from engagement with the shoulders 56, 56' on theinsulator, thereby releasing the insulator from the shell so that it isfree floating and, therefore, can be removed by simply pulling the toolforwardly relative the connector shell.

Thus, it will be appreciated that by the present invention, there isprovided a tool of very simple construction, requiring no movable parts,and may be manipulated without rotation. The tool allows the release ofthe retention fingers in the connector shell and the positive withdrawalof the front insulator of the shell without causing any damage to eitherthe shell, the insulator, or the fiber optic contacts mounted within theconnector. Since the T-shaped slots on the upper and lower surfaces ofthe front insulator provide both the forwardly facing shoulders 56, 56'for engaging the retention fingers, and the rearwardly facing shoulders66 that are engaged by the hooks 86 on the tool, an additional centralopening in the front insulator is not required, as in the Medinaconnector. Thus, the connector of the present invention may mount agreater number of fiber optic contacts.

While the connector disclosed herein has a rectangular configuration, itcould be circular in which case the legs 74 of the tool 70 would have anarcuate configuration complementary to the circular shape of theconnector.

We claim:
 1. A tool for releasing and removing a support member from thefront end of a connector shell containing a resilient support memberretention finger extending inwardly and rearwardly from the wall of saidshell into a slot between said support member and said shellcomprising:a relatively rigid, flat retention finger releasing platehaving a forward end and a rear end; a relatively resilient, flat armextending along one edge of said plate in spaced relationship therewith,said arm being coplanar with said plate and resiliently laterallymovable toward said plate, said arm having an inner edge adjacent tosaid plate and an opposite outer edge; and a hook on the outer edge ofsaid arm coplanar with said plate.
 2. A tool as set forth in claim 1including:a second one of said arms extending along the opposite edge ofsaid plate coplanar therewith and embodying a second one of said hookson its outer edge whereby said two hooks extend in opposite directions.3. A tool as set forth in claim 1 including:a second one of said platesand arms parallel to and spaced from said first-mentioned plate and armand joined at one end by a base member to form an element of generallyU-shaped configuration.
 4. A tool as set forth in claim 3 including:ahandle joined to said base member and extending in a direction oppositeto said plates and arms.
 5. A tool as set forth in claim 1 wherein:saidhook has a forwardly and inwardly extending tapered outer edge and arearwardly facing shoulder behind said tapered edge.